Cowboy Beans

The first time I had beans made this way was when my college roommates (Shout out to the Patterson Ave girls!!) made these for Bull Clip. Saw what?? What is Bull Clip you may ask? Good question!

When Kenny and I were in college at Ohio State we were members of the Saddle and Sirloin Club (which many universities call the Block and Bridle Club). Every year as a fundraiser for the club a group of students would head down to Belle Valley, Ohio for spring break. (Yes while some students head to the beach for spring break we went to bull test but to us, it was just as fun!) The University had a research station in Belle Valley, where every year they held a bull performance test and sale. Our job was to arrive before the performance sale and sheer all of the bulls to get them ready for the sale. We would spend several long days and evenings at the farm taking turns with the clippers to give those 100+ bulls a haircut. The fundraiser part came in because they paid the club per head that we clipped.

Anyways, one year my roommates were in charge of supplying dinner one night and these beans were on the menu. And they obviously made an impression! A few years later when I was getting married some ladies I worked with at the nursing home gave me a couple different versions of the recipe that they used for Cowboy or Calico baked beans. I have since modified the recipe a bit to make it to our liking and it is always a requested favorite for potlucks and picnics. Give it a try and I am sure you will hear "Who brought the beans and can I get the recipe?"

Saute the chopped celery and onion in olive oil

I once again used the Fior Fiore Extra Virgin Olive Oil from The Oilerie in Sun Prairie to saute the veggies in. Seriously, guys! This stuff is so fantastic. Once you have quality olive oil like this you will wonder what that other stuff you were using was!

Brown the beef and add the other ingredients

After you saute the onions and celery, you will bust out that Wells Farms Beef and brown it. After it is mostly brown, add the additional ingredients and mix. Add this mixture to your baking pan. (I use a slow cooker pot. Then after I bake it I can keep it warm for the potluck or picnic.)

Just look at those colorful beans!

Drain the 4 different kinds of beans and rinse then pour into baking pan. You can use any 4 types of beans you would like or have on hand - green beans, wax beans, yellow beans, pinto beans, kidney beans, black beans, butter beans, great northern beans, etc.) Add in the can of baked beans to the mix.

Mix it up!

Mix the celery and onion, ground beef mixture, and beans together. It's all starting to come together now!

To add a little extra special touch spread the top of the mixture with a can of tomato paste and top with bacon, yes bacon!! You can't really go wrong with bacon, can you?? After all that you will bake the beans at 350° for 1 hour. I like putting it into the slow cooker to keep it warm at the picnic or potluck I am taking it to.

And there you have it! Cowboy Baked Beans with Wells Farms Beef - the perfect side dish to any cookout or potluck.

We would love for you to give it a try and let us know what you think. Shoot us an email, send us a picture, post a pic on our Facebook page, tag us on Instagram (@wellsfarmsbeef) or Facebook (@wellsfarmsbeefwi) or pin it on Pinterest. Happy Eating!